Virus
by BlueStar29
Summary: Yugi gets sick. But is it the common cold or could it be something that could be vital to Yugi's life?
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, I know I should be working on things I already promised, but this has been in my head for so long, I just had to get it down! Bare with me, I'm making progress on things. This is just to hold you all over until then._

--

Six o'clock A.M. The alarm clock went off. A small, pale hand reached up to turn it off, but missed. A pained groan filled the room. Finally, after missing so many times, the pale hand gave up as the alarm continued to make an obnoxious noise. Yugi Moto was a sixteen-year-old junior at Domino High School. He knew he had to get up and get ready for school, but for some reason, he felt all the energy fall out of him. With what little strength he had, Yugi pulled himself into a sitting position with his blankets still covering him. "I hate mornings …" He told himself as he got up. He had taken a shower the night before, so he went over to his dresser to get a clean uniform for school. Suddenly, a pain filled his chest and he coughed pretty hard. Not thinking much of it, he continued to get ready for school. "Man, why do I feel so crappy? I must be coming down with a cold." Yugi was used to getting colds; he contracted at least two a year. He had already had one earlier in the year and since it was late November, cold and flu season was upon him.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door. Yugi did not answer; he knew he would not have to if the person was whom he thought it was. And he was right. Atem, his roommate and guardian, opened the door without waiting for an answer. "Oh, good; you're up. I guess I can put the bucket of ice water away." Yugi rolled his eyes. Atem had the strangest ways of getting Yugi out of bed in the mornings. He would spill water all over him, he would flip the mattress, and he would yell in Yugi's ear sometimes. Yugi loved Atem for everything the former spirit had done for him, but sometimes he really knew how to get on Yugi's nerves. Yugi coughed again. This time, it sounded like a pretty loose cough.

"Ouch; I better bring some throat lozenges with me. Joey, Tristan and I have that big science project to present today, and I'm going to need my voice." It was a good thing Yugi kept hard candies in his top desk drawer. He loved to suck on Jolly Ranchers ®, Starburst ®, and mints. He grabbed the baggie full of candy and stuffed it in his backpack.

He walked down the stairs with a slow pace. He could smell his grandfather cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Normally, the scent of bacon and eggs would send his mouth watering, but this time it made him a little queasy. "Morning, guys." He greeted the other two occupants of the house as he sat down at the breakfast table. Atem read the morning paper as Solomon continued to cook. The oldest member of the household turned and smiled at his grandson.

"Good morning, Yugi. Here are your eggs; scrambled, just the way you like them." He placed the plate of eggs in front of Yugi and returned to the stove. The youngest looked at the food sitting in front of him and for some reason, he just felt dizzy when looking at it. Across the table, Atem noticed that Yugi was turning his nose up at his breakfast. This confused him because Yugi was always pretty good about eating when he needed to eat.

"Yugi, is something the matter?" Yugi looked up and shook his head. When he did, he felt a bit of pain, which he knew was the start of a headache.

"… No, nothing at all." Reluctantly, Yugi took his fork and took a bite of the eggs. Atem shrugged and returned to his reading. When his guardian's attention was no longer on him, Yugi made a disgusted face as he swallowed the bite of eggs. It burned his throat as it went down and when it reached his stomach he could feel that queasy feeling again. Not being able to take another bite, he stood up and made an excuse to leave early. "Well, I better get to school. You know the guys and I have that big project to present today, and I better go set it up in the science lab." Solomon turned around.

"Do you want me to drive you to school, Yugi?" Yugi shook his head, causing another wave of pain.

"No, that's okay, Grandpa; I'll be fine." Coughing, he popped a sucker in his mouth and made his way for the door.

* * *

The walk to school was no picnic for Yugi. His headache did not seem to get any better and the bright light of the sun seemed to be burning his eyes. "I know Tea always keeps pain-killers on her, so I'll ask if I can have some when I see her." As Yugi continued to walk down the sidewalk, his vision started to sway. The more things in his line of sight swayed, the dizzier he became. Along with this, he could feel his stomach doing somersaults inside him. Just one bite of eggs was enough to give him a stomachache. Another coughing fit hit him as he finally reached the school.

Thankful to be back inside and out of the intense sunlight, Yugi made his way to the science lab. When he reached the third floor lab, he found that all the scents of the chemicals were very strong. This was strange; the chemicals did not seem to bother him yesterday. He covered his mouth with his hand for a few seconds until he reached his workstation. He placed another sucker in his mouth and began to set up the project. He liked being at school this early because it was quiet and peaceful. In a room full of chemistry students, and a room that was quite soundproof, things became a little wacky sometimes.

As Yugi finished setting up the chemicals he would need for the project, his headache seemed to be getting worse. Yugi thought that the smell of the chemicals was making his headache even worse. He left the lab as soon as he could and made his way down to the first floor for his first hour, which was Algebra II: Trigonometry. It was a good thing he did not have Chemistry until fifth hour. This way, he could use the first four hours to try and get rid of his headache.

Soon, it was time for school to start. He sat down in his desk and waited for Tea to come to class. Joey and Tristan decided that after Geometry was finished, they did not want to take any more math classes than they needed.

In Domino High, it was required for students to have two credits of math, but three credits for science. All three of the boys decided to take Chemistry to take care of that. Tea 

wanted to take easy Geology instead. Yugi knew the reason Joey and Tristan wanted to take Chemistry; they wanted to be able to make their own stink bombs to use as a prank on the principal at the end of the year. Yugi, however, he was just interested in Chemistry.

It was not long before students began to file into the room. Tea took her seat right next to Yugi.

"Morning, Yugi." Yugi fought a coughing fit and smiled a weak smile.

"Hi, Tea." He said in a low, scratchy voice. Tea's face filled with worry when she saw the state Yugi looked. His skin was more pale than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. Not to mention that he sounded like he had a frog in his throat.

"Are you okay, Yugi? You sound a little sick." Yugi shook his head.

"No, I just have a sore throat, that's all. Hey, can I get some pain-killers from you? I have this big headache."

"Sure." As Tea dug in her bag for the medicine, Yugi let out his loose cough again. "Are you sure you're okay, Yugi? That cough sounded pretty bad." She handed two round pills to Yugi who took them.

"I'm fine." Tea still looked worried, but let it go when the bell rang and the teacher began class. However, throughout the rest of the hour, Yugi kept coughing pretty hard.

* * *

Yugi's day seemed to go by slowly. The pills he took from Tea never helped his headache. His throat continued to get worse and his cough never left him. Worse, he was having a hard time breathing. Yugi was an asthmatic. Luckily, he learned never to go anywhere without his inhaler, but even with that, he found it hard to breathe. It felt like the school was on fire. He kept sweating for the first four hours. Finally, it was time for Chemistry. Yugi figured he was just nervous to have to get up in front of the whole class and make a presentation, that's why he was feeling so crummy. "As soon as Chemistry is over, it'll be better." He told himself. When he did, he found that his voice was almost gone. He popped in another piece of candy, still hoping that it would sooth his throat.

Yugi, Joey and Tristan stood up in front of the class. They wore white lab coats, latex gloves over their hands and thick goggles over their eyes. Yugi had just finished giving his three minute oral presentation and now it was time for the demonstration. Joey used an eyedropper to spill a small drop of clear liquid into a beaker filled with green liquid. The three let out a sigh of relief.

"So, in conclusion: chemicals do not explode." Joey said. Tristan and Yugi both looked at him and then at each other with worried glances they ducked under the table when a loud explosion took place. When the smoke cleared, Joey's whole face was covered in green powder.

"Well, that was some experiment, boys." The teacher said. Yugi and Tristan hoped that Joey had not just screwed up their grade. "Yugi, Tristan … B+." Said two relaxed. "As for you, Joseph, D-; apparently, chemicals DO explode." She said in a very condescending tone. Joey cheered.

"Alright, that's pretty good!" He said as the three of them walked back to the workstation. Yugi stopped in his tracks as the world once again started to sway.

"Mr. Moto, is there something wrong?" Yugi did not answer. He tried to take another step, but he just did not have the energy. "Mr. Moto?"

"Mrs. Chase … I … I don't … feel so …" Yugi never finished his sentence. He fainted right there on the spot. Mrs. Chase gasped.

"Oh my!"

"Hey, it wasn't that big of an explosion!" Joey said.

* * *

The next time Yugi came around, he found himself in the school nurse's office, laying down on one of the cots. He felt an ice pack on his head and could hear voices behind the door.

"He fainted in the middle of his class." He recognized that voice as the school nurse's.

"It wasn't from the chemicals, was it?" He recognized that voice as Atem's. 'What's he doing here?' Yugi thought to himself.

"We'll take him home right away." That voice belonged to Grandpa. Why were they here at school? Atem walked in and saw that Yugi was awake.

"Yugi, are you alright?" Yugi removed the ice pack from his head. As he did this, Grandpa walked in carrying his backpack.

"Yugi, we need to go home." Yugi did not argue. All he really wanted to do was go to bed at this point.

* * *

Surprisingly, Yugi slept through the afternoon and the night into the next morning. Six o'clock A.M. The alarm clock went off again. This time, Yugi did nothing to stop it. Atem walked in and turned it off after about fifteen minutes or so.

"Come on, Yugi; time to get up." Yugi groaned painfully under the covers. Atem stood over his light with his arms folded. "Now, come on. You've had more than enough rest, so I think you're good to go back to school." Yugi mumbled something under the covers. "What was that? I can't hear you." The small teen lifted the blankets that formed a cocoon over him and slowly sat up.

"I said … I think I'm sick …" Yugi's voice was pained and almost nonexistent. Atem raised a brow and felt Yugi's forehead and face.

"Hmm … you do feel a little warm. Hold on, I'll go get the thermometer." As Atem left, Grandpa peeked into the room.

"Yugi, you better start getting ready or you're going to be late." Yugi raised his half-lidded eyes to his grandfather.

"Grandpa … I think I'm sick …" Solomon walked into the room.

"What hurts?"

"Everything: my throat, my head, my stomach, and every muscle in my body …" Just as Yugi said this, Atem came back in with the thermometer in his hand.

"Alright, I've got the thermometer; flip over." This got Yugi's attention.

"What? No, give me that!" He snatched the thermometer from Atem's hand and held it under his arm. "This is the way my temperature was always taken. Even when I was an infant, my mother would hold my arm down over it." Atem shrugged in apology. After a few seconds, a small beeping went off and Atem took it. His eyes widened.

"104.3?!" He exclaimed.

"I'll call the doctor and see if he can get you in." Solomon said as he left the room to make the phone call. Yugi fell back down on his bed and made a pained sound. Atem sat next to him with his hand on the smaller one's forehead.

"Yami, I feel so bad …" Atem moved Yugi's bangs out of his face.

"Don't worry, Little One; we'll see what we can do." Yugi nodded slowly. Solomon came back in.

"Alright, Dr. Armstrong will see him in an hour. However, I have to open the shop."

"I'll take him, Solomon."

"Are you sure, Atem?" Atem nodded.

"It's no problem." Atem continued to play with Yugi's hair, whom did not seem to mind, seeing as how he did not have the energy to even sit up.

"Alright, get him to the doctor as quickly as you can."

* * *

_End of Chapter_


	2. Diagnosis

_Okay, the next chapter of this is up. So, I've been really busy with finals coming up this week. It may be another week or so before I can update anything else._

--

In Yugi's experience, the drive to the doctor's office was not a pleasant one. Almost every motion would make Yugi's nausea worse. It was especially terrible when Atem got caught in traffic and began stopping and going every three seconds. Finally, after a long twenty minute drive, they finally arrived at the office. Atem had Yugi sit in the corner so that he would not get the small children sick if he was contagious.

Like most doctors, Dr. Armstrong was late. It was getting increasingly difficult for Yugi to hold his head up. Eventually, he could not take much more and rested his head on Atem's shoulder. Seeing this, Atem looked at his watch and let out a frustrated sigh. If that doctor did not show his ass in the next thirty seconds, Atem was going to throw a hissy fit. Fortunately, the nurse ruined that plan.

"Yugi Moto?" Atem shook Yugi awake.

"Yugi, it's time." A little dazed, Yugi followed his darker half and the nurse into the examination room. Yugi sat on the table covered with wax paper while Atem stood next to him.

"Okay, Yugi; what's wrong?" Yugi was about to answer when a coughing fit hit him. Both the nurse and Atem flinched at how loose his cough sounded.

"Well, as you can see, he has a very loose cough, his throat is in a lot of pain, has a pretty high fever, and he has body aches all over." Atem explained.

"Don't forget about my headache …" Yugi answered when the coughing had subsided. His voice was so hoarse that he sounded nothing like himself. The nurse gasped.

"Oh dear! I'll have Dr. Armstrong come in right away!" Her voice was filled with genuine worry. Atem thanked her on her way out. He looked at Yugi, who was looking worse and worse as time went on. Finally, there came a knock at the door.

"Hello, Yugi. How are you today?" Atem rolled his eyes. He could never understand why doctors always opened with that line.

"Well, he's not feeling very well, hence the reason why he's here." He replied sarcastically. Dr. Armstrong looked at Atem with a suspicious look. He held out his hand.

"Hi, I don't think we've met. I've been Yugi's doctor his whole life, and I've never seen you before." The doctor said with a raised brow. Atem bit his lip.

"I'm uh … Yugi's …"—

"He's my father …" Yugi said in the raspiest voice that the two men ever heard. As Yugi sat up, Dr. Armstrong could see that Yugi's eyes were turning red from bloodshot. He turned back to Atem and saw the strange look he was giving Yugi. However, he did not see the nod that Yugi gave his darker half, silently saying '_go with it_'. Atem exhaled and smiled.

"Yes, I'm Yugi's father. I know we've never met, but … I just … found out about Yugi and … and I'm trying to establish a bond with him." Yugi rolled his eyes. Atem was a terrible liar; probably because he did not do it too much. Dr. Armstrong's eyebrow was still raised for a few more seconds.

"… Okay." Atem let out a breath of relief when the doctor turned around to Examine Yugi. "Okay, Yugi," He went over to the counter and withdrew an instrument. He looked in Yugi's ears, "hmm …" his nose, "hmm …" and his throat, "say '_ahh_'." Yugi tried to follow the order as best as he could. "Hmm …" Atem's eye began to twitch.

"'_Hmm_' what?! I swear, if you say that one more time"—

"I'm going to have to run a Strep test." The doctor said, interrupting Atem's threat. Now Atem had adjusted to life in the twenty-first century very well over the past few months, but medically speaking, he was quite useless.

"Strep test?"

"… To see if I have Strep Throat …" Yugi told him. It sounded as if as time went on, Yugi's voice became more and more hoarse. The doctor told Yugi to open wide again and this time, he took a cotton swab and swabbed the back of Yugi's throat. When Atem saw Yugi almost choke when the swab reached his sore esophagus, his reflective action was t pull him away from Yugi but the man did that himself.

"Alright, I'll put this through a test and we'll have the results in about ten to fifteen minutes." With that, the doctor took the sample and left the room. Atem continued to scowl him as he left the room.

"This guy went to medical school? What was his ranking, dead last?! I want to see some diplomas! Why are there no diplomas displayed in this room?!" Yugi moaned and coughed a little more.

"… Don't make fun of him … he's been my doctor since I was a baby …" Yugi said, hardly above a whisper. Atem felt his forehead once again. Yes, his temperature was still through the roof.

"Yugi, save what little voice you have left. Don't speak unless absolutely necessary." Yugi did not have to be told twice. He nodded in agreement.

Twenty minutes later, Dr. Armstrong entered the room again. Yugi was lying down on the table while Atem sat in a chair. Both sprung up when the doctor came back in with a chart in his hands. "Well, the Strep test came back negative, Yugi." Groaned.

"What good does that do us?" Atem asked in a condescending voice. Dr. Armstrong ignored him.

"However, you came back positive for Influenza." Atem and Yugi both looked to each other with wide eyes. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can give you." Atem's irritation with Dr. Armstrong was reaching unsafely high levels.

"What? Why not?! We came to you for help!" Yugi wanted to stop Atem before his anger got the best of him, but he just did not have the strength. Dr. Armstrong was keeping his cool, but Yugi could tell, through his eyes, that he was beginning to lose his patience for Atem as well.

"I can't prescribe anything because Influenza is caused by a virus. It will not respond to antibiotics because it is not a bacterial infection. I'm afraid it's just going to have to run its course." Armstrong turned back to Yugi, his eyes becoming softer. "All I can tell you is that you need to stay home for the rest of the week." Yugi nodded. "Drink lots of fluids; it looks like the virus attacked your throat pretty harshly." Yugi's hand ended up around his throat at the mention of it. "Do not get out of bed unless it's absolutely necessary." Yugi nodded again. "And I want to see you back here next Monday to see how you're doing." Yugi nodded again and slid off the table. Atem had to catch him because he almost fell over.

--

Once they were home, Atem ordered Yugi to first take a bath and then get to bed. He was still looking worse and worse. The ancient one may look like he was keeping his cool on the outside, but this was the first time he had seen Yugi this sick. Sure, he had been watching Yugi all of the little one's life, but the boy had never been as sick as he currently was. Atem was beginning to get quite worried. He was also worried about Solomon. Despite how the old man acted at times, he was still seventy-three years old. Atem did not know if Solomon's immune system could take a hit like this virus. Hence the reason why he was meeting with the elder while Yugi took his bath.

"The flu? But Yugi got his flu shot two months ago." Solomon said. Atem nodded.

"Yes, but the nurses said that even with the vaccine, it is still very contagious." Solomon nodded. Atem bit his lip.

"Solomon,"

"Yes?" There was a long pause before Atem spoke again.

"Since Yugi is in the contagious stage, I think it would be best if you stayed away from him for a while." Solomon was taken aback.

"I beg your pardon! I think I can see my grandson whenever I want to!" He was obviously offended. Atem flinched. He was expecting this, but did not mean for it to happen.

"I just mean that … well, with your age … your immune system might not be strong enough to fight off the virus if you contract it."

"I'm perfectly capable of watching out for my own health."

"Remember when you came down with a cold last year?" Solomon nodded. "You almost didn't make it. Yugi had to take you to the hospital." As much as Solomon did not want to admit it, Atem was right. Solomon was getting up in age and another attack to his health may be the last. "Solomon, I'm only looking out for your wellbeing." The old man eyed him.

"What about your wellbeing?" Atem began to chuckle.

"Strange thing, I'm immune to modern diseases." Solomon gave him a skeptical look.

"How is that possible?" Atem shrugged.

"Part of the resurrection deal. I'm able to live out the rest of my life as I would have back in Egypt, and in addition, my immune system is boosted to resist all bacterial and viral outbreaks." It was hard to believe, and even harder to understand, but Atem spoke the truth. When the Ishtar siblings cast the resurrection spell on Atem's ancient corpse after he won the Ceremonial Duel, Ishizu mentioned that it would protect him from becoming sick from any modern diseases. Ironically, it did not protect him from being shot, stabbed, run over, or anything else that could kill him. Solomon sighed.

"Alright, if it makes you feel better, I will not have contact with Yugi until he is feeling better." Atem smiled.

"Thank you so much, Sir." He sounded very relieved when he said those words.

"Just tell Yugi that I love him." Atem nodded and headed back up the stairs. Yugi was buttoning up, or trying to button up his pajama shirt when the darker half walked in. Yugi's eyes looked so heavy and it looked as if he was using all of his strength just to hold his head up. But Yugi was having a little trouble with the buttons. "Stupid buttons …" Atem chuckled.

"Here, let me help." Atem finished the task for his lighter half.

"Thanks …"

"What did I say about talking?" Atem asked as he helped Yugi into bed.

"Not to do it …" Atem chuckled.

"That's right, so stop. If you need to say something, say it through your mind to me." Yugi nodded and coughed again.

'It's so cold …' Yugi telepathically told his dark half. Even in his mind, Yugi's voice sounded awful. Atem raised a brow.

"Still? I put five blankets on you." Yugi looked at Atem with weak eyes. Even if he was still sick, Yugi's greatest weapon was still those eyes. Atem rolled his own eyes. "Alright, alright." He walked over to Yugi's closet and took out two more blankets. He tucked Yugi into them and felt his forehead. His light's temperature was still high. Atem would not voice it, but he was becoming very scared for Yugi. "Get some rest, Alright?" Yugi slowly nodded and drifted off to sleep. Atem turned the light off and closed the door.

At three o'clock in the morning, Atem was woken by the sound of retching coming from the bathroom. He ran in to find Yugi leaning over the toilet, violently vomiting. After a round of emptying his stomach, Yugi raised his head and looked at Atem. The boy's eyes were so bloodshot that they began to look pink. He was breathing heavily.

"… Yami … it hurts ..." He could hardly get the words out. His heavy vomiting was tearing up his throat even more. Atem held Yugi's hair back as the boy began another round of vomiting. He wet a washcloth and dabbed it on Yugi's head. "… It burns …" Yugi did not eat dinner that night. So the only thing he had to be throwing up was his stomach acid. Yugi violently threw up once more. Yugi flushed the toilet and slid to the floor. Atem scooped his light up in his arms and cleaned him up.

"I know it hurts, Yugi … but … there's nothing I can do …" Yugi looked up with a look of pain, but also with the fact that he knew Atem was right. It was the flu, so he knew he would have to suffer like this for the next week. Little did Yugi know that the virus had other ideas.

--

_End of Chapter_


	3. Living with the Flu

_I was inspired to finish this chapter because I, myself, am home with a cold. My first cold in nine years. (**Forgot how much it hurts**). That's also why it's pretty short. So, here's a new chapter for you._

---

Yugi woke up the next morning, feeling absolutely weak. His throat was so sore and so dry that there was no way that he could use his voice at all. Atem left him a bottle of spring water on his desk next to his bed during the night. The sick boy reached over and took a sip. It burned his throat on its way down. Yugi fought through the pain and took three more sips. His throat still hurt, but at least it was not dry anymore. After that little adventure, Yugi lay back under his covers and tried to go back to sleep. He wrapped all seven of his blankets around himself, forming somewhat of a cocoon. Even though the heat was on in the house and he was covered under seven blankets, he still felt cold. Yugi began to violently shiver. Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Without waiting for an answer, Atem opened the door a crack and poked his head in the room, smiling.

"Hey, I felt that you were awake. How do you feel?" Yugi tried to answer with words, but his throat hurt so bad that only a pained groan was able to escape his lips. Atem chuckled. "I forgot that you couldn't speak." Yugi had forgotten as well until he felt the pain. Atem came in with a tray in his hands. The tray had a bowl of Cream-of-Wheat on it. The older of the two took the chair from the desk and sat down beside the bed. Atem had a sympathetic look on his face. "How about some breakfast?" Yugi peeked one eye out of the blankets.

'_I don't know if I can keep it down …_' He sent through their mind link. Atem sighed.

"I know, but will you at least try? You need to eat if you want to get better." Yugi removed the blankets from his face so that Atem could feed him a spoonful of Cream-of-Wheat. Yugi choked on the spoonful when it reached his inflamed throat. Atem reached for the bottle of water and let Yugi take a drink. After he was able to swallow the soft food and water, he looked at Atem with a pleading look.

'_I think that's enough …_' Atem frowned.

"Yugi, you need to eat." Yugi shook his head.

'… _I can't …_' Once again, the darker half sighed.

"Alright, but I expect you to eat at least half of your lunch." Yugi nodded. He would tell Atem anything to get him to leave him alone so that he could sleep. The problem was that he could not sleep at all. His nose was so stuffy that he was up half the night blowing it. Unfortunately, Atem did not get the message. He put his hand on Yugi's forehead. "Hmm, your temperature's still high." He left the room. Yugi knew Atem well enough to know that getting Atem to leave the room was too easy.

'…_What are you doing?_' Just then, Yugi heard the bathtub faucet start.

'_I'm drawing you a bath. Hopefully, it will help lower your temperature._' Yugi sighed and dropped his upper body to his mattress.

'_But I wanna sleep …_'

'_You can sleep after the bath._' Yugi sighed, and then coughed. He knew there was no point in arguing. Atem's over-protectiveness sometimes got so out of hand that Yugi learned to just stop fighting it when Atem thought something was in Yugi's best interest.

A minute later, Atem came in to escort Yugi to the bathroom. Yugi weakly got out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He began to unbutton his pajama top when Atem took over the task for him. Yugi was beginning to get frustrated.

'_Yami, I don't need adult supervision …_'

"I just want to make sure you don't collapse." Yugi sighed. He let Atem help him with his shirt, but everything else was up to him. "Alright; try to relax, don't just get in and get out." Yugi nodded and entered the tub. The warm water did seem to sooth his over-heated skin. Becoming so relaxed, he sank to the bottom. Atem came in with a bath towel, surprising Yugi in the process. Yugi squeaked and pulled the shower curtain to cover himself.

"Hey, Yami!" Yugi, at least tried to say, with his raspy voice. Atem laughed.

"Yugi, please! I used to watch your grandfather change your diapers; it's nothing I haven't seen before." Yugi cringed.

'_Just knowing that makes me feel uncomfortable._' Atem laughed again.

"Don't stay in there for too long. I don't want the water getting cold and making you even sicker." He heard Yugi sigh.

'_Yes, Mommy._' The ancient one left Yugi to his bath, laughing on his way out.

---

After about twenty minutes, Yugi got out of the bath and into a fresh pair of pajamas. He slowly made his way back to his room. He was in so much pain that it was agonizing just to walk to fast. When he reached his bed, his nose was running very fast. He had already gone through four travel-packs of tissues and his nose did not show any sign of drying up anytime soon. So he sent Atem to get him a full box of tissues. Yugi had lost count of how many times he had blown his nose that day. He figured it had to be a lot since he felt the skin around his nose being rubbed raw. "I can't stand this!" Yugi said to himself. It was like every time he blew his nose, it would fill back up. Atem finally came back from the drug store with some tissues and a flu remedy.

"Alright, I looked through all they had, but this was the only thing that was guaranteed to put you to sleep." As soon as Atem put the plastic bag down on Yugi's desk, the sick boy reached into it and blew his nose, very loudly. Atem had a disgusted look on his face. Once Yugi was done he looked at his darker half.

'_Much better_.' Yugi's mental voice even sounded congested.

"I know. But this should take care of that." Atem took out a pill and gave it to Yugi to take with a sip of the water bottle. "I think it'll also cure your sleeping problem to"--- Before Atem could finish what he was saying, Yugi was lying down in the bed, fast asleep. He was breathing out of his mouth and Atem could hear a little bit of a wheeze. Not thinking much of it, Atem tucked Yugi under the covers and let him sleep until the effects of the cold and flu pill wore off.

---

The next morning, Atem woke up at seven o'clock to check on Yugi. However, when he opened the door to his light's room, he gasped at what he saw. Yugi was taking in labored breaths and he was wheezing very badly. He was having an asthma attack in his sleep. Immediately, Atem ran over, took Yugi's inhaler and woke him up.

"Yugi, here; take this!" Yugi didn't have to be told twice. He took the inhaler and gave himself a puff. Atem had Yugi sit in his lap, back to chest.

'_Yami!_'

"Focus on breathing, Yugi." By the way Yugi's short, raspy breaths were going in and out he knew Yugi was not getting much air. "It's alright, Yugi. I'm here with you." Five minutes passed and Yugi's breathing was not getting any better. Atem was almost in tears from his worry. "It should have gone down by now." He whispered to himself. Yugi's breathing changed from labored breathing into short panting breaths.

'_Yami … I can't breathe …_' Atem knew he had to make a decision.

"We're going back to the hospital."

---

_End of Chapter_


	4. The Real Diagnosis

_Okay, this one was requested, but it may have been a little too rushed. I bet none of you saw this coming!_

_As far as new stories are concerned, it looks like 'Image in the Mirror' won. So, I'll get started on that right away._

_Sorry for the two-week wait for an update. I've been off of school, and the 12-day-long heat wave kept me in bed throughout the vacation. Well, the heat wave is over, and so is the holiday. Back at school with four hours behind a computer. Well, anyway, here's the next chapter! I tried to explain it. I've done TONS of research on this subject over the years, so **DON'T TELL ME SOMETHING IS WRONG B/C I PROBABLY KNOW MORE ABOUT IT THAN YOU DO!** With that, enjoy._

---

Atem gathered Yugi while Solomon called the hospital to let them know that they were coming and that Yugi was very sick. Atem had Yugi sit on the couch while he started the car. As Yugi sat there, his breathing was getting even worse. He coughed roughly, which just made his asthma even worse. Now he could hardly get enough air to pass for more than two seconds. It felt as if he was breathing through a very narrow straw. He took in short, wheezy breaths.

Solomon came down and stood by Yugi, trying to comfort his sick grandson. Soon, Atem came running back in.

"Alright, I have the car running."

"We have to get him to the hospital quickly." Atem nodded. He knew that Yugi wanted to say something, but he could not form the words since he was taking so many breaths.

The drive to the hospital was not a pleasant one. Besides the fact that Yugi could not breath, he had to endure traffic while Atem swore at other drivers and Grandpa was yelling out all kinds of hazards, turning him into the world's worst back-seat driver. Yugi's eyes rolled up.

As he looked at the ceiling, he thought about what could be wrong with him. As an asthmatic, he was very vulnerable to any types of diseases that attack the repertory system such as: Influenza and Pneumonia. It had to be one or the other. Both would make him bed-ridden for at least a week and a half. Yugi had never had either of them. He was surprised because he was very vulnerable to both of them. Yugi let out a very hoarse cough. There was a feeling in his chest that made him realize just how little air he was getting. It was worse than he thought.

'_Hurry …_' Yugi thought as he sent that thought down the telepathic link he shared with his dark. He wanted to vocally express the word, but without enough air getting into his lungs, he could not draw in a good breath to make it.

"Don't worry, Yugi; we're almost there."

Just as Atem predicted, no more than five minutes later the car pulled up in front of the emergency room entrance. Atem hurried Yugi in and ordered the first available doctor he saw to get Yugi tested. When seeing just how sick the boy actually looked, the doctor agreed.

Yugi felt so weak that it took him ten minutes just to get the hospital gown on. Once that task was finally taken care of, they put an oxygen mask on him and gave him a breathing treatment through an IV. As Yugi began to relax, he felt as if he were leaving his own body. It must have been the medicine they were giving him. He could hear the doctors and nurses talking to each other about stats, but all Yugi could hear was mumbling. To him, nothing existed. He was floating on a cloud while everyone else worked. He felt at peace; he had never felt this relaxed before, and he never wanted to leave.

In the outside world, the heart monitor the doctors had hooked Yugi up to had started beeping out of control.

"We're losing him!" Someone said.

"He's not getting enough oxygen!" A nurse pierced into Yugi esophagus and inserted a tube for the oxygen to reach Yugi's lungs faster. That seemed to help a little, but Yugi's heart rate was still too high. They had to do some tests on him.

Meanwhile, Atem and Solomon were waiting in the waiting room for the latest news on Yugi's condition. Atem had called Tea to tell her about Yugi, but they were just starting school. She said that she would tell Joey and Tristan and they would be there after school let out. That fact made Atem feel a little better, but not too much. Solomon kept himself busy by reading one of the magazines that the ER waiting room provided while Atem found the clock to be very interesting.

The ancient one was never one to stay put. Even as Pharaoh, he could never keep still for too long; it was a habit that had developed in his childhood. Atem finally fell victim to this habit and began to pace around. Not only did he pace, but he kept sighing every ten seconds. Normally, the Moto patriarch would be able to block Atem's bad habits out, but the situation at hand was getting the best of him.

"Atem, will you please sit down? You need to stop worrying so much." Atem sighed again, making Solomon cringe in irritation.

"How long does it take to run a couple of tests? He's been in there for over three hours!" Solomon cleared his throat and stood in front of Atem with his arms folded.

"Are you a medical expert?" Atem raised a brow.

"No."

"Have you ever run tests like this before?"

"No, but"---

"Then you have no right to demand a time frame! Things like this take time, Atem. We may not get results for another day or so." Atem sighed again. "And stop sighing!"

"I'm sorry! But I'm going crazy here with nothing to do! I have to be next to Yugi!"

"Then go take a walk. You can't help Yugi unless your head is clear." Atem hung his head. He knew that the elder was right.

"What about you?" He asked softly. Solomon placed a hand on Atem's shoulder.

"I have dealt with this kind of scenario before. I think I can deal with this better than you can right now. You need to clear your head, so go clear it and then we can talk." Atem was about to sigh but stopped. He nodded and went to go walk around.

---

Meanwhile, after hearing that Yugi was in the hospital, Tea could not concentrate on her classes. The beginning of the day seemed to pass by in a blur. She had to tell Joey and Tristan about Yugi … but how? How was she supposed to tell them that their best friend's illness was worse that originally thought? This was probably one of the rare times she regretted not having a lot of classes with those two clowns.

As her psychology teacher droned on about Freud's '_penis envy_' theory, which Tea thought was complete bull; if anything she was happy to not have to stand up when she pees, she slipped her phone out under the table of her desk and texted Atem about Yugi's condition. Oh how she loathed having to sit here in class while one of her best friends was in the hospital. Hospitals were never her favorite topic. Everything about them creeped her out. A shiver went down her spine just thinking about it.

"…quiz." Tea looked up. It was a reflex, perhaps to all high school students, that when either the words 'test' or 'quiz' was mentioned by a teacher automatically caught her attention.

"Oh sh--" This was not what she needed right now. Suddenly, her phone buzzed twice, letting her know that she had a message. She opened it. It was from Atem.

_They are doing tests now._

Was what the text said. Tea shook her head with a smile. Typical Atem; he was raised to speak grammatically correct, which he always did; he even texted grammatically correctly. Looking up, her teacher was coming around with the quizzes so she had to put the phone away for right now. She hoped that she would do well on this quiz, since she had not been listening for the whole hour.

---

Back at the hospital, Atem kept pacing. Not getting any results from all those tests was really starting to drive at his nerves. He never was famous for his patience, or lack there of. Several different scenarios ran through his mind. One where the doctor came out and actually told them that they lost Yugi. Atem swore that if that happened, he would never forgive himself. Whatever this illness of Yugi's was, it had made him sick enough to come to the hospital, which was never a good sign.

The ancient one looked to Solomon Moto, who had taken to sitting in a chair and reading a magazine. Atem could not understand how he could be so calm when his only grandson was fighting for his life just beyond those doors. He felt so useless; as stated before, Yugi was fighting for his life and Atem was just a few yards away and could not help him.

Suddenly, after so long, the doors opened to reveal the doctor that was assigned to Yugi's case. Solomon quickly put the magazine down and stood next to the dark one.

"Well, we did our tests and the blood test came back positive …" Atem was beginning to despise these doctors for not finishing his sentences.

"For what?" He asked.

"…for the Plague." Atem gasped. He was all too familiar with the Plague; that was the disease that had claimed the life of his father. From the references he read, the virus spread quickly throughout Europe way after his time, but it was still active. He had also read that throughout time it dissipated. His thoughts were interrupted by Solomon's voice.

"That's quite strange …" The old man commented, stroking his beard.

"How is that possible in this day and age?!" Atem eagerly asked. The doctor escorted them over to a more private area before explaining Yugi's condition.

"Well, the first few tests that were done suggested that he had had a form of pneumonia. He was able to contract the virus while his immune system was weak and fighting that off." Atem nodded his head, not really interested in what Yugi _had_ but instead what he _has_.

"But that still does not explain how Yugi contracted the Plague! And, even if he does have it, shouldn't he be covered in … I don't know, growths, or welts, or something?" The doctor put his hand up, signaling to Atem that he would answer one question at a time.

"There are three different types of the Plague: one, the one you're thinking of, the bubonic plague, which is the most commonly known type and is usually carried by fleas, rodents, and so forth." Atem nodded; that had been what had killed his father. Hopefully Yugi did not come down with that. The doctor took in a deep breath.

"The second is septicemic Plague. This can be contracted through the air from someone who is infected with the bacteria that causes the virus.

And finally, there is the pneumonic Plague. This is a very serious viral infection that is spread through the air from person to person. It attacks the immune and respiratory systems, which caused Yugi's asthma to flare up so badly." Atem ran his hand down his face. The doctor was not answering the overall question.

"How did Yugi get the virus?!" He enunciated slowly, as if the doctor was too dumb to understand the question.

"Well, it's not a virus that fleas carry. Unfortunately, some household pets can carry the virus as well, such as long-haired dogs or cats"---

"**Cats?!**" Both Atem and Solomon exclaimed in unison.

"Yes … does Yugi have a cat?" The two nodded. Atem never liked that cat, and he knew there was something wrong with it.

"But how could Ezzy contract the virus?" Solomon asked. The doctor shrugged.

"Perhaps she ate a mouse that was contaminated. Different animals respond differently to it." Atem's mind was flooding with emotions; anger at the cat for getting Yugi sick, and worry for Yugi's health. Before he could ask another question, the doctor continued. "If the cat is a carrier for the virus, it needs to be quarantined and tested."

"Doctor, what type does Yugi have?" The elder Moto asked. After a long silence, the doctor answered.

"Pneumonic; the pneumonic type occurs when the septicemic plague spreads through the lungs and into the bloodstream." Atem ran his fingers through his hair.

"What is the mortality rate?"

"Uh … well, it depends on the type and what country you're in, and"---

"What. Is. It?" The doctor sighed.

"Not good if not treated within the first twenty-four hours." Atem swallowed. He should have taken Yugi straight to the hospital as soon as his fever spiked past 102. "And, we're going to have to have you two tested as well, so that we can see if you've been infected too."

---

_End of Chapter_


	5. Quarantined

_Okay, so here's my FIRST update of the year. Sorry but-actually, I take that back; I'm NOT sorry. I have to focus on getting a real career instead of just having a job. So since I have all summer, here's something I've had in my head for a while. I'm probably going to try to update older stories first. But I have a few "Baby Tales" bits that I want to put up too. My twin nephews inspire me so much! That is, if anyone wants it. I know my baby Yugi stories are old, but They're just SOOOOOO cute!_

_So anyway, here's a long over-due chapter. I'll try to have something else posted this week too. Ciao!_

* * *

Chapter 5: Quarantined

Atem could not believe what he was hearing: his light had the **plague**. The word kept ringing through his ears. Worst of all, if Yugi did not get some kind of treatment soon, he would probably not recover! He had to think fast.

"So, what do we do?" He asked with a small tremor hidden in his voice. It was vague and unoriginal, but it was the only thing he could think of to say in a situation such as the one he currently found himself in.

The doctor closed his eyes for a second and sighed.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to quarantine him."

Alarms went off in Atem's ancient head and a vein began to pop out. All he could think of was the separation anxiety that he would experience if he and Yugi were apart for too long of a time. Both Atem and Yugi suffered from it if they had to be separated; it was part of the whole "_dark and light_" thing. Yugi would get very withdrawn and depressed, while Atem became short-tempered (_even more so than usual_) and close to the point of being homicidal. No, Atem was not going to let these quacks keep him and his light from each other! But before he could voice his thoughts, Solomon asked:

"For how long?"

The doctor only shrugged his shoulders. "I estimate a month, at least."

Hearing this, Atem's blood was boiling in his veins. It was as if he were already feeling the effects of the separation when it had not even happened yet.

"No, you can**NOT** separate us!"

The doctor stared at Atem, then sighed. Personally, he hated it when he had to quarantine his patiants; but he had to think about the health and safety of others as well.

"I'm sorry, sir … but we have no other choice. We need to prevent an outbreak."

Tea saw that little twitch in Atem's eye, the one that appeared whenever Yugi's safety was in jeoperdy. She could tell that he was about to do something strange—as was his nature when it came to his little light—and she wanted to prevent it.

"Atem, I think we should"— She tried to put her hand on his shoulder to calm the ancient one down, but Atem harshly shrugged it off.

"Outbreak? I'll show you an outbreak!"

Suddenly, Atem raced towards Yugi, cutting through the medical professionals that blocked his way and ignoring their complaints.

"Sir, stop!" But before anything could be done, Atem placed his hand over Yugi's mouth and then over his own, smirking. Everyone in the entire emergancy room was shocked at his actions. They all just stood there, watching Atem, who was still smirking.

"Oops. I guess you're going to have to quarentine me too, now."

So that was this mad man's plan all along. As his friends stood there, speechless and in shock, Solomon stood with his arms folded and slowly shaking his head out of disappointment. Atem was usually very mature for his age (_ancient or not_), but the way he handled this situation was just childish.

The doctor just sighed. "Well played, sir. Well played."

* * *

Two hours later, Atem had come out of the small bathroom that was provided for Yugi and him in the quarantine ward, which was located in a secluded area in the basement, before the morgue. Atem had to remove his usual clothes and wear the "sanitized" scrubs that were provided for him. The only thing that he kept was his cartuche, which he never took off. He looked himself in the mirror and thought about how out-of-place he felt in these clothes and sighed.

"This is going to take some getting used to …" Not being used to the cotton-polyester fabric, he tacklessly scratched himself under his armpit.

After deciding that there was nothing he could do, he looked over at Yugi, who was still asleep in the hospital bed. He now took a closer look and was able to see just how sickly his little light really looked.

The boy had an oxygen mask over his face, which encased his mouth and nose. A heart monitor sat right next to his bed, beeping away to tell all that Yugi was still alive. The machine that held the heart monitor also had a machine that told Yugi's current temperature. At the moment, it read 104.7. An IV had been placed into a vein in his arm. His pale skin was paler than usual, making him appear to be almost ashen. There were dark, purple circles under his eyes. The boy's hair was sagging a little bit; the life in it looking almost completely drained.

It broke Atem's heart to see Yugi like this. But it hurt even more so to think that this could have been prevented, had they gone straight to the hospital instead of going to that idiot that told the that Yugi only had the flu. At that moment, Atem wished that Yugi only had the flu.

"I'm sorry, Yugi …"

Said boy's body began to stur, startling Atem in the process. The younger's eyes slowly opened. That youthful spark which usually made Yugi's eyes shine, was so dim that it was almost completely gone. Just by looking at him, one would think that he was at death's door.

One of Yugi's ailing hands instinctivly reached up to remove the tube that was in his nose that connected the oxygen mask to his face. Upon seeing this, alarms went off in Atem's head. He immediately ran to his light's side and stopped Yugi from pulling the tube out.

"Yugi, no; you need that."

Yugi's dull, half-lidded eyes looked up at his dark with confusion. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but clutched it with his whole hand in pain as soon as the first syllable was emitted.

"No, don't speak. Speak to me through the link if you need to."

Yugi took a moment to collect himself before speaking telepathically to his darker half.

'_Where are we?_' He asked. Even telepathically, Yugi seemed as if he was straining to speak.

Atem ran his long fingers through his light's hair before answering. "We're in the hospital." He was still playing with Yugi's hair as the younger took a look around.

He saw that he was hooked up to all kinds of machines; that was to be expected. But he noticed that their room had glass walls, leading out to a long hallway that ended in, what looked like a lab. Yugi had never seen a hospital room with glass walls before. This was certainly strange.

A phone that was sitting on a small end table along the front glass wall rang. Yugi looked at his dark. He knew that Atem had left something out of his explaination. Yugi did not have to use the link in order to ask Atem his question.

"We've been moved to an isolated location … we've been quaranined."

Yugi openly gasped, which caused his constricted lungs to unexpectedly expand and rapidly made the boy cough his loose, rouch cough. Atem gave him a little cup of water, which the light eagerly gulped down.

"Take it easy, Yugi …" Atem whispered.

Yugi used the trick that his doctors tought him to do when it came to controlling his breathing: he inhaled deeply through his nose and then exhaled slowly out of his mouth. After a few minutes of that, his breathing had calmed down, though his chest was still very tight.

'_Quarantined? Why?_'

"Because you don't have the flu," a brief moment of hope passed through Yugi's eyes, "you have the plague." The hope that shown in those eyes faded with that bit of information and was replaced with horror.

Yugi knew all about the plague. He learned about in school how it wiped out most of Europe in the middle ages. He knew how fast it came one and how fast it ended.

'_T-the plague? But how?_'

Atem sighed. How was he supposed to tell Yugi that, allegedly, his cat was the one that made him sick? Granted, if Yugi despised that cat as much as he did, Atem would have no problem admitting it. But Yugi loved Ezzy—he was the one to give her a home when she was just a hungry stray kitten. He loved taking care of Ezzy. The ancient one took a deep breath to ready himself.

"Well, the doctors call it pneumonic plague …" He answered. Technically, he was beating around the bush, trying to stall until he came up with a gentle way of breathing the news to his little light. Unfortunetally for him, Yugi picked up on his dark's struggle.

'_What's wrong, Yami? How did I get this? I know you know …_'

Even vitally ill, Yugi's look of determination was always effective. Atem sighed again before continuing.

"Yugi, they think that Ezzy may have eaten a mouse or something … that carried the virus, and she passed it on to you."

Yugi's eyes widened as much as they could. How could his cat make him sick?

"They said that just by petting her you could have picked it up."

A tremble passed the little light's lips. '_What's going to happen to her?_'

"She's going to have to be quarantined too."

'_With us?_'

Atem shook his head. "At the vet."

The boy's eyes began to water. Poor Ezzy … no one would be there to pet her, to play with her, or to snuggle with her for … '_How long?_'

"Ten days."

Yugi groaned again. That was a long time to be locked up in a cage to someone that had no concept of time.

_'What about us?'_

Atem casually shrugged his shoulders. "However long it takes for you to recover and not be contagious anymore.

This was a lot to take in. Yugi's ailing head was now literally pulsing with pain. He laid back on the bed, trying to ease the pain. Atem acompanied him by sitting on the edge of the mattress. He began to run his fingers through Yugi's hair again. This massage started to lessen the pain.

Suddenly, Yugi sat up as thought occurred to the younger. _'Hey, what are you doing here?'_

Atem smirked. Truth be told, he was having fun playing with the doctors' heads. "They think that because I came in contact with you, that I've contracted the virus.: He could not help the small chuckle that escaped his lips.

Yugi raised a brow. _'But you can't get sick.'_

This time, Atem's mocking chuckle rose in volume. It became evident to Yugi that he was not even **trying** to hide his amusement. "I know, but they don't. And that's what's funny about it!"

Yugi flopped his head back down on the pillow and sighed. 'Why don't you just tell them?'

Atem gave Yugi "_are you kidding me?_" look. "Is the virus attacking your brain, Yugi?"

Yugi widened his eyes in offense.

"Sure, I'll just say _"hey, I'm a ressurrected five-thousand-year-old pharaoh from Ancient Egypt. A benefit of it is immunity to ailments. So can you stop with the tests now?"_ Right, they'll start testing me for mental illnesses then."

Yugi had to smile at this. Even in a condesending tone, Atem had a good way of using logic, and it made the little light silently laugh. He had to admit that it did feel good having someone else quarantined with him. The fact that it was his dark made him feel safer. He knew that the other would not let anything happen to him. A wave of relief calmed Yugi down as he drifted off into a much needed sleep.

* * *

_End of Chapter_


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